5th June

I sleep very badly with a bad headache and insufficiently long. So we wake up very rough. Nevertheless we get breakfast and head off to the Parthenon! We find the metro system easy to use and very well organised - the best I have ever travelled on.

A short walk and a 30 minute queue for tickets gets us onto the slopes of the Parthenon. There is lots to see: The theatre of Dionysus: an ancient, very large amphitheatre still mostly intact held up by two huge retaining walls. The remains of the statues that flanked the walls are still in good condition. The theatre has fancy seats for the privileged, an orchestra area for dances and a stage. We sat for a while high up where the rowdy paupers must have sat so many centuries ago. Several small sanctuaries and temples along the slopes heading up to the hill The roman theatre was built later and has been completely restored. It is regularly used for concerts of all sorts. It is steep and large (open to the sky today but was roofed in Roman times) - looks magnificent. It would be amazing to see a contemporary performance.

We wander a bit along a contour path to look at another small sanctuary (mostly converted into a church) and rest in shade. It is hot and hard on the slopes on this hunk of rock. Tourists hide like Dassies in the few bits of shade. We climb the path up to the entrance to the Acropolis.

The entrance leads up a wide staircase between spectacular columns - it is awe-inspiring and effective as you climb through it onto the flat top of the hill. From this entrance temple the city splays out below you. We take some pictures around the entrance, take a few couple pictures for other couples then up to explore the plateau.